Page 53 - Donegal CC An Rpt 19

Other key events were the launch of the Creative Coast strategy 2019 -2022, the securing of additional funding for the Food Coast under the LEO Competitive Call, participation of Donegal craft producers at the gift fair in Philladelphia in October, design and delivery of the cross border export development programme in conjunction with Derry City & Strabane District Council, finalist in the national Food Destination competition and contributions to the activities within the Donegal Connect project in particular the Feast at the Foot of Errigal and the Driving Donegal Forward conference.
Diaspora
During the year the key focus continued to be communication with our Diaspora through
email and the e-zine. As well as the Tipp O Neill Awards and weekend, significant time and energy was committed to contributing to the planning and management of Donegal Connect which involved 10 days of activities and events across the county. Within the programme
there were a number of key Diaspora-specific events such as a workshop with our international associations and a workshop on the challenges and supports when moving/returning to Ireland. In advance of Donegal Connect the Love Donegal campaign was also managed by the Diaspora office. During the year there was also two meetings of the international advisory committee including a facilitated workshop by the staff of ONeill and Associates, Boston on the positioning and marketing of the county to our Diaspora and potential investors. The Donegal Connect event received the overall Tourism Award at the LAMA All Ireland Community and Council Awards 2019.
Enterprise Europe Network
The Local Enterprise Office Donegal represents the 31 LEOs/LAs on the Irish consortium
with the partners being Enterprise Ireland, the Local Authorities, Cork and Dublin Chambers of Commerce. It also manages the activities and budget for the 31 Local Authorities within
the project. This project is part of an international network of over 600 enterprise support organisations in over 6 countries and is funded under the EU COSME programme. The main object of the project is to assist suitable companies develop new export opportunities through partnering, brokerage events and connecting through other EEN international organisations. During the year, two national meet-the buyer brokerage events in engineering and food, were organised by Donegal with over 120 firms and buyers attending each event. All project metrics within the project for the LEOs were reached in 2019.
European Projects
During the year the LEO continued to be actively involved as a partner in four EU funded projects, the most significant being the €17M Co-Innovate project led by InterTradeIreland with LEO Donegal as a partner and on the project management team. Two new projects - PASSAPRTOOL and SinCE-AFC began mid-year and focus, respectively, on soft (non R&D) innovation and the circular economy within the food sector - two areas with significant opportunity for local firms. The EIS project which focuses on the internationalisation of SMEs provided the business tool around which the cross-border export programme was designed and delivered in 2019.
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